New Invention Brings Japanese Men to Their Knees

Peeing on the toilet seat might be a bone of contention for couples all over the world until an enterprising company in Japan decided to lesson the frustration. In 2007, Kaiteki Raifu Kenkyusho unveiled a kneeling bench that enables closer peeing range for male folk.

Known as Angels Knee Pillow (or Tenshi no Hizamakura), the company envisioned men kneeling down on this handy bench whenever they needed to pee.

The company’s overall goal is eliminating pee droplets on the rim as well as in the outer toilet area. Thus, they believed that shortening the distance between the person and the rim would minimize such spillage.

Their efforts are, in part, driven by a 2007 Panasonic survey which explored the number of pee splatters for the average man.

They found out that, depending on intended destination for the stream, pee splashes could range from 85 drops – 311 drops per loo event.

And as for the unusual pee buddy itself, there are two different versions of the bench up for grabs.

The more expensive bench, priced at 5,800 yen ($60), is actually a two-piece set with a comfortable cushion for each knee.

The less costly option, which is simply one whole padded knee bench, has a price tag of 4,800 yen (about $50).

So far, people aren’t queuing up in thousands for Angel Knee Pillows but 280 of these benches have been sold to interested parties.

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By shinigami on 01-12-2009